(Yicai Global) Aug. 23 -- Chinese electric carmaker Xpeng Motors said it had nothing to do with the theft of trade secrets by a former employee who previously worked for Apple.

Guangzhou-based Xpeng said in a statement posted on Weibo today that it does not know about the specifics of the case, that is has had no involvement in the follow-up investigation, and that there is no dispute between it and Apple.

It comes after Zhang Xiaolang pleaded guilty in a federal court in San Jose, California yesterday to stealing confidential information from Apple, according to a CNBC report the same day.

Zhang joined Apple in 2015 and worked on the company’s car project. In 2018, he told Apple he wanted to return to China to look after his mother, and said that he planned to work for Xpeng.

He was arrested by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents at San Jose airport before boarding a flight to China after Apple’s security team found Zhang had downloaded confidential data.

Zhang faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of USD250,000 when the court rules on the case in November, CNBC said.

Xpeng also disclosed a document showing that Zhang joined the company in May 2018 after leaving Apple. Xpeng said it had found out a month later that US authorities had launched an investigation into Zhang, sealing his computer and office supplies.

Founded in 2014, Xpeng listed in New York in August 2020 and took a secondary listing in Hong Kong a year later. In the first seven months of this year, the company delivered a total of 80,507 vehicles, an increase of 108 percent from a year earlier, according to its data.

Editor: Tom Litting